Do you live with a traffic jam in your head? Need some open highway to cruise on for awhile? It is more of recent phenomenon that we are subject to stress, depression and anxiety disorders, and many adults and unfortunately youngsters are prescribed heavy medication to deal with these disorders. Even the great Stephen Hawking says we are living in the "age of anxiety".
We have busy lives, and when we get down time we tend to turn on the TV instead of playing. According to the Nielsen Reports, more then half of Americans watch at least four hours of TV per day. Liz Newby-Fraser, the academic dean at the California Institute for Human Science explains, "With TV, you're adding input rather than clearing out or cleansing. In a way, your mind is going to be even more tired when you're done. She goes on to explain this in more physiological terms. "Watching two hours of television is not relaxation. With TV, there are stimuli that activate the sympathetic nervous system, rather than the parasympathetic, which is associated with real rest."
Keep this advice in mind next time you need to relax and clear the mind. If you are stressed, depressed or have anxiety for any reason, here are some better ways to clear the mind:
Stress Management Programs - Find some stress management programs that are specific to your needs that you can use throughout the day to step out of "work" mode and relax. This may be as simple as take some deep breathes, or standing up and twisting after sitting at your computer for an hour. Whatever you find works for you, take up a daily practice of it.
Stay in the Present Moment - Anyone who has ever gone through anxiety attacks or hit rock bottom with stress or depression, will tell you that party of the recovery is breathing techniques and not worry some much about future and past. Stay in the moment, enjoy the moment and you will live more of a stress free life. A great book on moment to moment living is The Power of Now , by Eckhart Tolle.
Yoga and Meditation - Try doing some yoga and meditation. These practices are very popular now, because they work and they are needed to todays world. Yoga and meditation are all about staying to the moment and slowing down over active mind activity.
What we may not realize sometimes, is that if we slow down enough to clear our heads, we not only improve our health, we actually become more effective in work and parenting roles. One breath at a time.
